Holidays are Just Around the Corner….Time for a Giveaway!

‘Tis the season for giving and sharing so that’s what I have planned for you.  First, I will share some of my favorite December resources and freebies.  Then, I will give one lucky reader a chance to grab something from my store for FREE (details below)!

It’s almost time to turn the calendar page to December.  Once Thanksgiving is over, Christmas preparations are fair game.  That means it’s time to share a few resources I find helpful in December.

I think many of you know how deeply my love runs for Horrible Harry, but only because he isn’t horrible at all.  2nd graders love him and the stories he tells.  There are TWO books that are great for the holiday season (book blurbs below):

 

It’s Christmastime, but with Miss Mackle in the hospital, no one feels much like celebrating. Maybe Harry can think of a way to cheer up Miss Mackle and put the holiday spirit back in Room 2B.

The holiday season is here, and the kids in Room 3B are learning about all the different ways people celebrate. In addition to Christmas and Hanukkah, there’s Kwanzaa, Three Kings’ Day, Korean New Year, and more. All the talk about holidays has everyone feeling festive. Everyone, that is, except Harry. He doesn’t seem to care about the holidays, the class pet, or even the new student in class. It’s clear that something is bugging Harry—but what could it be?

Here are some of my other favorite read alouds during December, in no particular order (Titles & Authors Below):

The Polar Express (Van Allsburg)
Who Will Guide My Sleigh Tonight? (Pallotta)
Snowmen at Christmas (Buehner)
The Jolly Christmas Postman (Ahlberg)
Santa’s Stuck (Greene)
A Bad Kitty Christmas (Bruel)

The Twelve Dogs of Christmas (Kragen)
Santa’s Book of Names (McPhail)
How Santa Got His Job (Krensky)
How Santa Lost His Job (Krensky)
Olive the Other Reindeer (Walsh)
Mooseltoe ( Palatini)
Guess Who’s Coming to Santa’s for Dinner? (dePaola)
Hurry, Santa! (Sykes)
Bear Stays Up for Christmas (Wilson)
Merry Un-Christmas (Reiss)
What Santa Can’t Do (Wood)
Where Did They Hide My Presents (Katz)
Who Will Help Santa This Year? (Pallotta)
A New Improved Santa (Wolff)
Careful Santa (Sykes)

 

Most 2nd graders have the concept of even and odd mastered by this time of year, but there is always a child that sneaks by without a clear understanding.  Because December is a short month, it lends itself to a quick intervention for those students.  Two years ago I created a sorting activity for working with a small group.  It worked out well, but I felt the other students could be practicing independently on the skill while I was working with my small group.  I finally got around to sprucing up and adding some of those practice pages to the pack.  Here’s a look at the newly revised product:

Here are a couple of freebies I have created, too:

Time to Trim the Tree is a matching game with times to the 5-min. interval.  Cards are for analog clocks, digital clocks, and time words (eight thirty, half past eight).

If you need a quick time filler, I also have a quick word search in my Free Resource Library:

Here’s a little freebie I came across that made my kids giggle and smile as they created sentences with a partner (Thank you, Silvia Garay-Sanchez):

We also do a little Santa’s Workshop where we make several crafts.

When I was student teaching, I learned to make some cute 3-D wreaths.  I thought about doing a how-to post until a friend pinned an image from a blog called Our Small Town Idaho Life.  Phew – what a time saver!  Click the photo for a tutorial.

We also make these simple trees, though to be honest – ours are usually tipping over because the kids want to put on SO….MUCH…..GLITTER:

Then, there’s the fun of making a gift for the families for the holidays.  For the past few years, we have made these super simple snowman ornaments:

This was also a favorite gift of mine from past years (photo is from an unknown source).  There’s a cute little poem that goes with it, too!

What are some of  your favorite December resources?  Leave a comment below telling me and you will have a chance to snag something from my store for FREE!  I’ll check back in a few days to pick a winner.